hypothetical_storiesfandomcom-20200214-history
The Sinister Specter
Chapter 1 I stood in the driveway of our "new" house, helping unload boxes from the moving van. Here, the term "new" needs to be applied loosely. The house, although beachfront property, looked to be run-down and dirty. The windows were streaky. The roof was missing shingles. It looked like it could collapse at a moment's notice. I turned to my friend Sarah, who was the one who had hooked us up with this place. "Honestly, what a fantastic choice Sarah. It's absolutely breathtaking," I said sarcastically. "Look, I don't know what else you want me to say," She replied. "It looked new in the pictures." "This is why you never buy something sight unseen," I muttered under my breath, angrily grabbing a box and walking in the front door. Inside I met my other friend, Libby, who was directing the moving guys with the placement of furniture. "Hey Anthony," She said in between giving orders. "Hi," I replied back, setting the box down on the kitchen counter. "What do you think of this place?" "It's a fucking dump," I replied back, noticing the spiderwebs hanging down from the ceiling fan in the kitchen. Libby laughed. "Yeah, I know right? But we can make the best of it." "If you say so," I said, heading back outside. Now, before I go any further, let me tell you how we ended up at this place. It was the summer of 2022. Earlier that spring we had each graduated from our respective colleges and then got together to decide where we should live for the next few years. We ended up coming across what appeared to be a decent piece of beachfront property in Charleston, South Carolina. Abnormally cheap price, given the location, we realized we couldn't pass up on this offer and bought the property. Fast forward two months and here we are - late August 2022, seeing the house in person for the first time. And I couldn't have been more disgusted. Suddenly, the voice of realization smacked me in the face as I realized there was not a solitary thing we could do about our situation. We were gonna be forced to live there. I decided that sometime in the future I would use my interior decorating skills and liven up the house. It's not gonna be so bad, I kept telling myself. After all, you're gonna be together with your friends. It will be a lot of fun. Chapter 2 That night, we got all our stuff unpacked and moved in. By the time we achieved completion of that task, we were exhausted and decided to head to one of the bars downtown for a break. We got back, drunk, around 1 A.M. in the morning. As we walked inside, Sarah attempted to turn on the hallway lights, but they wouldn't go. "What the hell!?" Sarah exclaimed. "They were working just fine earlier!" "Crappy house, crappy wiring," I said, heading upstairs. I stepped into my room, feeling unusually cold. I checked the two windows that were in there to see if either were open - neither were. Shivering, I slipped into bed and wrapped myself in the blankets in a desperate attempt to get warm. The Vodka we had earlier caused me to pass right out, and I fell asleep within seconds. ---- The next morning, I woke up with a headache. I groaned, stretched, and walked downstairs, where I found Libby making pancakes for us. "Morning!" She said cheerfully. "I made chocolate-chip pancakes. Want some?" "Maybe later," I said, looking in one the cabinets for Aspirin. "Do you know if Sarah unpacked the medication yet?" "She most likely put it in the bathroom." I walked back upstairs and into the tiny bathroom. I popped open the bottle of Aspirin and took a few in a desperate attempt to relieve myself of my migraine. I then stared at my reflection in the bathroom mirror and thought I saw something standing behind me. I rubbed my eyes and looked again, not seeing anything. I thoroughly inspected the entire room, but in a place as small as this was, there weren't too many places for someone to hide and gave up after ten seconds. I walked back downstairs and discussed the incident with Libby, who suggested it was nothing and that my headache was causing my mind to play tricks on me. Not long after, a disheveled Sarah came downstairs and walked into the kitchen. "Morning Sarah!" said Libby. "Want some pancakes?" Libby gestured towards the stove, where a steaming plate of untouched chocolate pancakes sat. Sarah groaned. "Guys, I had a bad dream last night. A really bad one." "About what?" I asked. "It was a random montage of scary and fucked up stuff. Visions of a dark forest engulfed in fog, a demonic ritual with people clothed in black robes, us trapped in some abandoned building, people dying....it was scary as all out gets." I was stunned. That dream seemed like something straight out of horror movie. I looked across the table at Libby, who also had no words. Chapter 3 Later that day, after cleaning up the kitchen following the breakfast nobody ate, we decided to get out of the house and bought tickets to the South Carolina Aquarium. We spent a couple hours touring the place, then went to a nearby restaurant for dinner. We eventually returned home by nightfall. Outside, it was beyond 80 degrees with plenty of humidity. As soon as I crossed the threshold into the house, the temperature plunged by what seemed like nearly 50 degrees. "Jesus Christ who left the air conditioner on?" Sarah exclaimed. "This house doesn't even have it," said Libby. While those two went back and forth, something in the kitchen caught my attention and I slowly made my way down the hall. No lights in the house were turned on, but the moonlight streaming in through the window illuminated the room. I faced the area containing the sink and saw nothing, when a cold breath on my neck made me freeze. I did not make a sound, nor move, for what seemed like forever. Slowly, I mustered enough courage to gradually turn my head to face behind me, but again saw no one. I then turned around completely and noticed the sliding door in the adjacent eating area standing wide open. "Guys, someone might have broken in," I called out, and Sarah and Libby came running. "What? How do you know?" Sarah asked, pestering me with questions without providing time to respond. I pointed at the open door. Both girls were dumbfounded. "I'm calling the police," I announced, and dug around in my pocket for my cell phone. "You two turn on the lights and search the house for anyone. Make sure they aren't hiding out somewhere." They then left the room while I placed a call to the local police department. Within ten minutes they arrived. Just as I let them in, a bloodcurdling scream from upstairs made my blood run cold. Chapter 4 I ran upstairs, with the three cops who showed up right behind me. I found Sarah and Libby in my bedroom, both back up against the far wall opposite my closet. Both were hysterical, and I couldn't get a clear answer from either of them. "For God's sake, just spit it out!" I yelled, and Sarah pointed directly at the closed closet door. One of the cops volunteered to check inside, and everyone stood on guard. The officer, with his gun at his side, gradually stepped over to the door and practically yanked it open, and when he did, my jaw dropped to the floor. There was a real human skeleton stowed in there! The officer who made the discovery immediately radioed to his precinct for back-up. We tried to get a closer look at the bones, which looked dirty and of great age. The cops then performed a meticulous investigation of the whole house, which revealed no one had broken in and no other skeletons were hidden away somewhere. Sometime during the investigation, the county coroner showed up and took the bones away, assuring us he would report back to us once he finished his examination. All while this was happening, people were coming out of their houses and stood out on their lawns, trying to figure out what the hell was going on. By that point, I had enough and decided to go to bed. The next morning, I switched on the TV and saw a live news story reporting about the bones found in our house the night prior. "Oh for crying out loud," I said to myself as I buried my face in the couch cushions. "Something should be wrong?" Libby asked as she walked by. "Look at the TV," I said, not getting up. "Oh my," Was the response I heard from her. "This is just what I wanted. A derelict old house that is now the center of a possible murder that the media will have a field day over," I said, getting up and storming out the front door. I decided I needed to calm down, so I started walking up the street and attempted to clear my head. I had barely made it down the driveway when I was stopped by two teenage boys walking down the street. "I was wondering when they would find the remains," One of them said, looking at me. Uh, what? I thought. What the hell are these two talking about? "Excuse me?" I said to them. "Yeah, I know, you must be confused," The other one said. "Last night, that skeleton that was taken out of your house, it was the remains of Roger van Dike III," Explained the first one. Who now? I thought. I just stared at these two guys, hoping they would go away so I could continue with my walk. After all, did I really need to know who died in my house? I just wanted to forget about it. "Who was that?" I found myself asking them. "He was a Union soldier who worked at Fort Sumter," The first teen explained. "You know what that is?" I nodded my head, having learned about it in APUSH back in high school. "Okay," Began the second one. "Well, when the First Battle of Fort Sumter began on April 12, 1861, van Dike was standing guard on the roof of the facility when the first mortar shell exploded over the fort around 4 in the morning. The blast killed van Dike on impact." What a dumb way to die, I thought to myself, but I said nothing. "Once the bombardment of the fort concluded, van Dike's body was taken by his comrades and sent back to the mainland, where he was buried at Magnolia Cemetery," The first one said. "However," Began the second teen. "South Carolina was a Confederate state and the thought of a Union soldier being buried in that cemetery drove Charleston residents insane. So, one night, a group of secessionists went to the cemetery and dug his body up and walked over to your house. Having been newly built at the time, they broke in and hid it. The next day, the gravekeeper made his rounds at Magnolia and noticed that the unmarked grave where the solider was buried was disturbed, and the body was missing. However, no one knew where it was." "Later, when the first family moved into that house, they described terrifying visions of paranormal activity. They soon moved out," Continued the second teen. "Everyone thought they were crazy, until it happened to the next family. And the next family. And the next one. In the early 1920s, rumors began to surface that the long-missing body was hidden somewhere in that house. By that time, it was abandoned and no one ever had the audacity to go in and try and find it. In 1930, a group of thrill seekers snuck into the house and tried to find the body. Long story short, three of them ended up dead and the other four escaped, describing being attacked by 'devilish monsters' that killed three of their friends." The first one then continued with this; "Coroner reports show that there were gashes and marks on some of the mystery hunters no human was capable of inflicting without a weapon, and a thorough search of the house revealed there was absolutely nothing that could have made those marks. Plans were eventually made to tear the place down, but in the 1970s someone attempted to convert it into an inn. The work was almost complete when one June night, local residents said the owner of the place ran screaming from it in the middle of night, never to return. The place then went from owner and owner, adding additional modern anemities but never actually living there. It has since stood empty for almost a year when you bought it and moved in." I stood in stunned silence, trying to process everything that was just explained to me. I began to feel like my life was becoming a Hollywood movie. Moving into a creepy old house. Not knowing what went on there. Rumors of ghosts. Being stopped on the street by random strangers and having everything explained to me. At that, I thanked the two random guys for the story and went back inside. Chapter 5 As soon as I entered the house, I searched for Sarah and Libby. Libby was in the laundry room, while Sarah was in her room watching anime. I got them both and took them into the living room and explained everything. By the time I was finished, both of my friends had stunned looks on their faces. "Anthony.....how the hell do you know about all this?" Sarah asked. "I know it sounds uncanny, but just as I was going for a walk, two random people stopped me and told me everything I just relayed to you," I said. "Well, you don't believe it, do you?" Libby asked. "Libby, between last night and today, I don't know what I'm supposed to believe anymore. All I know is there was a real human skeleton found in my closet, and this house certainly seems to have a legend about it." "You shouldn't listen to random people just wandering about," Sarah said. "They're probably messing with you." "Well, tomorrow I'm going to the historical society to confirm that story. It has some truth," I said, walking out. I walked up the stairs and entered my bedroom. I flipped on the TV and watched some of The Conjuring 2 before somehow falling asleep. When I woke up, the room was dark and night had fallen. I slowly sat up in bed and looked around, feeling like something was watching me. My eyes drifted past the windows when a shadow darted across one of them. I drew in back in bed, not moving. Somebody, somewhere, moaned. I knew this wasn't a prank, and I was frightened. I attempted to get out of bed, but the sudden sound of footsteps running across the floor made me stop cold. I flicked on the bedside lamp, but as soon as I turned it on, it went out. "Oh, fuck!" I said out loud. At the moment, a demonic roar at the end of the bed caused me to scream and run out of the room. The racket I was making resulted in Sarah and Libby emerging from their rooms and into the hall, inquiring as to what was going on. Of our little trio, I am not easily frightened, so them seeing me in that state worried them. Within a few minutes I was able to calm down and explain what just happened to me. My friends were at a loss for words, unable to explain it. And how could they? Stuff like that doesn't happen in real life! You can't explain it, no matter what you do. You feel insane, lost, and alone. No one can help you. People look at you like you're a freak. As soon as these thoughts hit me, I angrily got up, walked back in my room, and slammed the door. ---- The next morning, after a sleepless night for me, Sarah asked me how I was doing. "Anthony, what the hell was that about last night? I've never seen you like this, ever. You really scared me." I shook my head and placed it in my hands. "I don't know, Sarah. I just don't know." Later on, Libby emerged and soon enough we went about our day. After lunch, I made my way up to the local historical society as planned and began looking through some of the records on my house. Let me just say, there were a TON. Turns out the house was originally built by a wealthy confederate general who was killed in combat before ever getting the chance to live there. His family interred his body in one of the walls of the home for unknown reasons and vacated it, but never actually sold it. This then led me to realize, could the skeleton that was found in my closet been that of this guy? If his remains were just shoved into some wall of the home, then surely his remains were the ones found in my closet, and not this van Dike guy I was told about the day prior. Continuing with my research, I discovered the house was not lived in for at least 30 years after it was built. In 1892, a family by the name of McKray moved into the home but quickly vacated it, describing "mysterious occurrences". Approximately a year later, another family bought the home, but moved out after one of the daughters was attacked by a creature she described as "Satan". Within another few years, a third family bought the home and moved in on Halloween night. They stayed for less than a week after the husband went insane and unsuccessfully tried to kill his wife and three children. For a little while there was nothing; most likely the time period in which the house was abandoned. I then came across a newspaper article dating back to the 1920s, stating something about the body of a Union soldier being hidden away in the house and tied to all the paranormal activity supposedly happening there. I figured this must've been the van Dike guy the two teens were talking about. But, they had it wrong. The owner of the house was buried in the house, not this guy. Ignoring this, I continued my research. There was still very little about the house, except for the occasional newspaper article hinting at the possibility of someone's body being hidden out at the house. I then came across a newspaper dating back to 1934. In this article, it explained how seven local boys wondered about the possibility of a body being hidden there and dreamt of the fame and glory if they recovered it. So, they went in and tried to search for it. Sometime during the night, things went horribly wrong and the group was rumored to be attacked by "inhuman monsters". One of the surviving boys explained that they saw "horned creatures" rise up from the kitchen floor and swipe at some of their friends with "abnormally long claws". It was safe to say three of them were killed on impact. By the time authorities went in and investigated, the bodies were said to be missing and were never found. There was also no trace of blood or anything otherwise that would have led them to it. No one was ever charged with the murder, and an unidentified person assumed ownership of the property. I then found an article dating to 1939, stating that the house had been taken over by a group of German Socialists (aka Nazis) who emigrated to the U.S. in search of exterminating Jews. From April 1937 to November 1938, Nazis reportedly kidnapped hundreds of supposedly Jewish people in and around the Charleston area and killed them inside the house. Most of the bodies were never recovered, though everyone involved was arrested and given the death penalty. The house remained untouched for several subsequent decades, until in the 1970s a young entrepreneur named Max Leville bought the property with the hopes of transforming it into a five-star inn. The work was nearly completed until one night, Leville, who was in the building by himself, was seen running from the property all the while screaming like a maniac. He never returned, and it was rumored that paranormal events tied to the house followed him, and he eventually committed suicide in his Minneapolis apartment in 1976. The next few decades were quiet, with the only things I came across being documents showcasing the transfer of the property from owner to owner. The next family did not move in until 2020, but moved out within a year. The last thing I found was a newspaper article dating back to July of that year. After this, I found nothing else, gave up, and went home. I felt like what I had was sufficient, and went back home to tell Sarah and Libby. On my way, I thought about all the other deaths tied to the house. How the bodies of the three teens went missing in the 1930s. How the Nazis machine gunned people to death in there and hid the corpses of their victims. I realized there was a lot of missing history to the house, and the remains found in my closet could have been of anyone. What I discovered that day and was told earlier on were just two different variations of the story. Chapter 6 At home, I told Sarah and Libby about my time at the historical society. "So, were those guys full of shit or did you actually find something?" Sarah asked. "You'd be surprised, Sarah. There was a crap TON of stuff about this place. Not only was the legend about that body being hidden in here true, but it turns out the original owner was interred in one of the walls after he died. AND, Nazis who emigrated here in search of Jews used this place to mass murder them during World War II," I said. "Really?" Libby asked, her eyes wide as she sat down in an armchair. "Yep," I said. "I can take you guys back there tomorrow if you want." "Uh...no, thanks. I'm not getting involved in that," Sarah said. "Suit yourself." That night, Sarah and Libby left to go babysit the neighbor's kids, while I got ready for a party just down the street - hosted by one of my good friends I had lost contact with after high school. It was around 9 P.M. Sarah and Libby were already gone, while I was finishing getting ready for the party. I was waiting for the hair dye I had applied earlier on to finish drying, so I blasted music from my phone and sang and danced along to rid myself of boredom. Unexpectedly, the music stopped playing and my room was filled with silence. I went over to check and see if my phone needed charging, but everything seemed fine, so I started playing it again. Within 45 seconds it stopped again. I went over see what was causing the disruption when my phone screen lit up a brilliant white. No words or Apple loading icon, just a plain, white screen. Within a few seconds, the phone screen went black again. I picked it up and went into iTunes and started playing my music again. But, instead of the actual music coming out through the speakers, it was a random montage of hushed whispers and angry growls. There were so many voices pouring out of the phone it was impossible to tell what each was saying. At that point, I was so weirded out I abandoned the phone and left the house. I walked down the street to my friend's house and stayed for a couple hours. Returning home around midnight, I saw from outside every single light in the house appeared to be on. I rushed in, thinking something was wrong. What met me was an unexpected sight: the whole house had been ransacked, from top to bottom. Furniture stood upside down. Pictures had been knocked off the walls. Decorations littered the floor. "What the fuck happened here!!?" I yelled as soon as I saw the sight. Chapter 7 "Anthony!?" Libby yelled from somewhere. "Yeah!?" I called back. "We're in here," She replied, her voice coming from the kitchen. I stepped over the mess and gradually made my way towards the kitchen. In there, cabinets stood open and all our glassware, though unbroken, covered the floor and countertops. Sarah was fishing through stuff on the dining room table while Libby was busy putting plates away. "Who could've done this?" I said, looking around. "No clue," Said Sarah, not looking up. I had a sudden thought. "Guys, what if....?" Sarah whirled around. "Ghosts? You're gonna say it was ghosts, aren't you?" "Do you have any other explanation?" "Someone broke in." "The doors and windows were locked when we got back, Sarah," Libby said, looking at her. "Besides, there isn't anything in here worth stealing," I said. "Nothing looks like it was broken or stolen, whoever it was just made a mess. It's not blatant vandalism, either." Sarah tried to justify her reasoning, but was failing. By this point we were just staring at each other, expressionless glances on our faces. We spent the next couple of hours cleaning up the first floor, then moved up to the second. Our bedrooms weren't nearly as trashed as the downstairs, and didn't take too long to clean up. Exhausted, I clambered into bed around 3 in the morning. I had barely fallen asleep when something woke me up. To this day I still have no clue what it was. I grabbed my phone to check the time, and it wasn't even 3:30 A.M. I groaned and rolled over in bed, coming face to face with the bloodied, disfigured face of a soldier. Chapter 8 I'm willing to bet my scream interrupted television in six states. Sarah and Libby came running in, and I was a mess. I was sobbing, screaming, howling, and fussing over what I just saw. Tears streamed down my face, and I just couldn't calm down. Not after that sight. "Anthony!" Sarah screamed, worried. "What happened!? What did you see?" I found myself physically unable to answer her questions, like someone had a gag over my mouth. After an hour or so, I calmed down completely and was able to relax. However, I could not bring myself to enter that room for the remainder of the night. The following morning, I felt groggy and achy all over. It felt like someone was banging a hammer against my head, and I was just so tired I felt like I could fall asleep right in the middle of the hallway, never to wake up again. Eventually, Sarah came down the stairs and eased me into the kitchen. "You doing okay?" She asked, pulling something out of the freezer. "Yeah, I'm fine.....AHHHHHH!" I screamed, noticing she was holding a rotten, human head by the hair. "What!? What is it!?" She yelled, frightened at my outburst. I looked again and saw it was just a box of waffles. "Oh, God save me..." I muttered, sinking back into my chair. ---- Later that day, I decided I just needed to get the fuck away from that house. So, I went to a nearby mini-golf course by myself to achieve some peace of mind and, well, just relax. I payed the admission and chose my club and ball and began playing. I was halfway through the course when I accidentally hit my ball too hard and it went flying into a nearby pond. I sighed to myself and went over to retrieve it. As I knelt down to pick it up, a sudden, strong, and unusually cold breeze swept through the course. I shivered, covering up my exposed arms and decided to head home. The breeze tailed me, whipping my hair across my eyes. It was so ferocious it was almost like it had its own voice. Then I heard my name being called.... Chapter 9 I whirled around and thoroughly examined my surroudings, but no one was outside. I was alone. I then heard my name called again. Anthonyyyyyyyy...... It seemed to wail, fading as the wind gusted past me. Unnverved, I just kept walking until my house came into sight. At that point, I just ran up the driveway and slammed the front door. I backed up against it, expecting something to start banging on it from the other side at any second. However, all remained quiet, expect for the sound of my heavy breathing - trying to recover from my sprint back home. Then Libby came walking down the stairs. "How was golf?" She asked. "Fine," I said, heading into the office and closing the door behind me. By that point, I was just so worn out I collapsed on the office couch and fell asleep. At some point during my nap I began dreaming. ---- I woke up a while later, heart pounding and drenched in sweat. I looked around, in a daze, and found myself still in the office where I had fallen asleep hours earlier. I sat up and listened. The house was quiet. I then figured Sarah and Libby went off somewhere together. At that, I got up and walked into the kitchen and searched the cupboards, looking for something to eat. I settled on a box of of chocolate chip cookies and walked back into the living room with my sweets. I tried to find something on TV, but at that time, nothing good was on. Right then, the TV inexplicably turned off. I pressed the POWER button on the remote several times to get it to go back on, but it was no use. I got up to check the wiring, but everything seemed fine. I gave up on the TV and decided to do a load of laundry. I gathered all the dirty clothes from my room and took them into the laundry room under the stairs. Just as I was about to drop them into the washer I heard a noise behind me. I whirled around, and an old teddy bear sitting on a stack of boxes caught my eye. Its cold, plastic, lifeless eyes seemed to be staring directly into mine. Creeped out, I convinced myself it was just an old stuffed animal - nothing more. I then shut the lid on the washer and hit the START button, when a tumbling noise behind me made me whirl around, gripping the sides of the washer. I noticed the little bear had fallen off the boxes and was lying face-down on the floor, with its stubby arms reaching over its head.....like it wanted to be picked up. C'mere, It seemed to say. Come over here, reach down, pick me up and I'll-'' At that moment, I grabbed the bear by the throat and shoved it into a sitting position on the stack of boxes, then left the room. Unnerved, I stepped out onto the back deck and faced the ocean, trying to calm down. I persuaded myself that my house was NOT haunted. In no way did I want to accept that reality. Suddenly, I felt hands pushing me from behind and I went tumbling over the railing, seeing nothing but inky blackness. Chapter 10 I later woke up, completely alone, confused, and in a hella lot of pain. I looked around and saw myself staring up at the wooden boards comprising of our back deck, which I had somehow fallen - or should I say, was ''shoved ''- off of. I put my hand up to my head, and felt a large bump somewhere near the center. I sat up, brushed off the sand - and felt pain coming from every fiber of my being. I groaned loudly. I could barely move. The sun was setting over the ocean at this time, and if I wasn't sitting under my deck, wondering what the hell just happened to me, I would've loved. I tried to stand up.... Let's just say that didn't go well. I tried calling for help, but knew I wouldn't be getting an answer any time soon. The cool wind was ripping right off the water, and it was the most uncomfortable thing ever, especially wearing just jeans and a zip-up hoodie. Without knowing what to do and feeling completely and utterly hopeless, I lay in the sand for what felt like hours. The sun had gone down completely, and I stared at the twinkling stars above. It was eerily quiet - even the rolling sound of crashing waves seemed to fade from existence right then. I twisted my head to see if any lights were on in the house, signifying either Sarah or Libby was in there - and froze in shock. Chapter 11 Every window in the house was dark. However, even through all the darkness, and partly illuminated by the outdoor light for the deck area, I saw a dark, shadowy figure in one of the second floor windows. The room the figure stood in was Sarah's bedroom. I weakly called her name, hoping she'd hear me, and, more importantly, hoping that it was ''her. I never took my gaze away from that window. Eventually, the figure turned to its side and slowly walked out of view. I knew down deep in my gut that it was not Sarah. It wasn't even a burglar. Whatever that thing was - wasn't human. I groaned and pivoted my head back up to face the sky. Out of nowhere, I heard the back door push open with force and two pairs of footsteps hit the wooden deck. "ANTHONY!!!" I was more than relieved to hear Sarah's voice. "Down here," I croaked weakly. There was a pause from above, and Sarah called my name again, this time a bit quieter, but with more worry and angst. "Down here," I said once more, a bit louder. I heard Sarah and Libby mutter to each other from above, then make their way over to my side. I saw their faces peer over the railing, and I gave a half-hearted smile and wave. They both screamed, ran across the deck, and down the stairs on the side. "What happened to you!?" Libby yelled, trying to help me up. I explained how, earlier in the afternoon, I stepped out on the back deck for a breath of fresh air. I explained how I felt a pair of hands push me over the railing. Landing in the sand. Blacking out. Waking up, unable to move or call for help. Without any additional words, Sarah and Libby hoisted me up and carried me on their shoulders over to the car parked in front of the garage. They drove me to the nearest emergency room. I didn't know what was wrong with me, but I was unable to get up after I fell. It just hurt too much. For some reason, it didn't feel like anything was broken. After getting off the freeway, we entered a construction zone - bright orange cones outfitted with reflectors lined either side of the already narrow lane we were traveling in. I began to turn my head to look out the windshield from the back to see where we were. However, I never made it. Don't call me crazy here, for as crazy as this next part sounds, this is the way it happened. Exactly. Chapter 12 Up front, Sarah was driving and chatting with Libby, who sat in the passenger seat. They had me lay down in the backseat, with blankets, ice packs, and pillows cushioning and relieving my aching body. I slowly turned my head to see out the windshield to gain a sense of where we were, considering we had just gotten off the freeway. We were in a narrow lane, with our already large minivan being squeezed in by the cones that lined either side of the lane. As I continued to to look out the windshield, I saw, and I kid you not, a tall, black figure rise seemingly out of the ground in front of us. I wasn't the only one who saw it. Sarah and Libby both screamed, and the next thing I knew the car was spinning out of control. I was completely disoriented as the ceiling seemed to cave inwards and nearly collapse, followed by the sound of all the windows shattering. The car was in motion, but I had no idea what had just happened or where we were going. I joined in the screaming festivities as we were thrashed every which way, before finally blacking out after what seemed like hours. ---- When I came to I was in the emergency room. I suddenly panicked when I realized I couldn't feel anything below my chest and above my pelvis. I pulled up the side of my gown to see some sort of wrapround cast going around my abdomen. I was suddenly overcome with pain in my lower back and resumed to my previous sitting position. I then glanced around the room. It was a small, single hospital room. Yellow walls. Curtain rod going around the bed for privacy. Flatscreen television on the wall opposite my bed. A cabinet with all medical stuff along the wall to my right. It really wasn't anything special. I wondered where Sarah and Libby were when the door came open suddenly. A man who I presumed to be a doctor walked in, with Sarah and Libby trailing close behind. Apparently I was the one with the most significant injuries. Sarah received a lot of bruising and a broken arm. Libby had bandages under her eyes from where the glass from her glasses cut her. Thank God none of went into her eyes. I however, had broken my back and ended up with a concussion from where my head banged up against the roof of the car. At that point, I didn't care how badly we ended up from that car wreck. I was just glad everyone turned out somewhat okay. Chapter 13 After explaining my injuries, the doctor left the room, leaving me there with Sarah and Libby at my side. We said nothing - just glanced knowingly. What we saw was not fake. It was completely real. For the longest time, we did not talk. The utter silence in the room was deafening. Category:Hypothetical Stories Category:Scary Stories Category:Suspenseful Stories Category:Sassmaster15 Category:Ghost Stories